Vital Records Reference Dates

Massachusetts Birth, Marriage and Death Records Online

The following is a list of online resources useful for locating Massachusetts Vital Records which consist of births, adoptions, marriages, divorces, and deaths. Check Massachusetts Vital Records Online for more information about the resources listed below. Most online resources for Massachusetts Vital Records are indexes. After locating a person in an index always consult the original record to confirm the information in the index.

Birth, Marriage, and Death Records

Early Records of Births, Marriages, and Deaths

Early Massachusetts vital records were recorded by town clerks. Records of births, marriages, and deaths to 1850 for about 215 towns have been published. Most of these are on microfilm and microfiche at the Family History Library. These often include information from town, church, cemetery, county, and other records. Although records of about 100 towns have not been published in book form, many of these records have been published in periodicals such as the Mayflower Descendant, with concentration on Plymouth, Bristol, and Barnstable Counties.

New England Marriages Prior to 1700. [1]Lists 17th-century marriages of Colonial New England with approximate dates.

Torrey's Bibliography to His Source Notes for New England Marriages Prior to 1700. [2]Has an alphabetical list of his source notes indicating book title, author, publication date, and manuscript titles.

New England Marriages Prior to 1700[3]is on CD, edited and published by the New England Historic Genealogical Society. It has complete citations for almost all the sources cited. See also www.americanancestors.org.

Supplement to Torrey's Marriages Prior to 1700. [4]Has additional marriages found in Torrey's notes after his death in 1962.

Second Supplement to Torrey's Marriages Prior to 1700. [5]Provides additional marriages found in Torrey's notes after his death in 1962.

Third Supplement to Torrey's Marriages Prior to 1700. [6]includes the first and second supplements. It has many marriages from the Great Migration Study Project, sponsored by the New England Historic Genealogical Society.

State Records of Births, Marriages, and Deaths

The Family History Library has records of births, marriages, and deaths beginning as early as 1603, although state records start in 1841. They can be found in a Place Search of the Family History Library Catalog under:

MASSACHUSETTS - VITAL RECORDS.

Most vital records from 1841 to 1910 are online at New England Ancestors, open to members of the New England Historic Genealogical Society. You can also obtain copies of birth, marriage, and death certificates for 1841 to 1915 by writing to:

The New England Historic Genealogical Society has vital records of 351 Massachusetts towns from their inception to 1850, statewide vital records from 1841-1910, and vital records 1911-1915. This is a subscription website.

The Massachusetts Archives has a free online search of the indexes for vital records for many towns in Massachusetts for 1841-1910. After finding the record you desire from this index, you can find the applicable microfilm at the Family History Library to see the actual record.

Adoption Records

open / closed/ state statutes

Divorce Records

From 1738 to about 1888, divorce records may have been filed in the county court, governor's council records, superior court of judicature, or supreme judicial court. After 1888 proceedings were usually filed at the county probate court and superior court. The library has some of these court records, including:

Additional Helps

Tips

Information listed on vital records is given by an informant. Learn the relationship of the informant to the subject(s) of the record. The closer the relationship of the informant to the subject(s) and whether or not the informant was present at the time of the event can help determine the accuracy of the information found on the record.

If your are unable to locate vital records recorded by governments, search for church records of christenin, marriage, death or burial, A family Bible may haave been used to record births, marriages and deaths.

Privacy laws may arestrict your access to some vital arecords. Copies of some vital arecords recorded in the last 100 years may be unavailabale to anyone except a direct relative.

Search for Vital Records in the Family History Library Catalog by using a Place Search and then choosing Vital Records. Search for Massachusetts to locate records filed by the state and then serach the name of the county to locate records kept by the county.

Substitute Records

These links will take you to wiki pages describing alternate sources for birth, marriage and death records.

Church Records: Depending on the denomination, church records may contain information about birth, marriage and death.

Cemetery Records: Cemetery records are a rich source of birth and death information. These records may also reveal family relationships.

Census Records: Census records are a valuable source for birth and marriage information. You may also determine approximate time of death when the individual disappear from the census. This is a good place to begin a search.

Newspapers: Besides obituaries, local newspapers may contain birth and marriage announcements and death notices. Also check newspaper social columns for additional information.

Periodicals: Local genealogical and historical societies often publish periodicals which may contain abstracted early birth, marriage and death information.

Military Records: Military pension records can give birth, marriage and death information, In addtion, soldiers' homes records can included this same information.

Probate Records: If no death record exists, probate records may be helpful in estimating when an individual has died. Probate records in the 20th Century often contain the exact death date.

History: Local histories, family histories and biographies can all be sources of birth, marriage and death information. Often this information is found in county-level records or in surname searches of the Family History Library catalog.

Lost or Missing Records

Barnstable County,

References

↑Torrey, Clarence Almon. New England Marriages Prior to 1700. Andover, Massachusetts: Genealogical Publishing Company, 1985. (Family History Library film 1320548 item 14; for source notes, see films 929494–500 [films do not circulate to Family History Centers].)

↑Secretary of the Commonwealth, Massachusetts. Births, Marriages (1841–1895); Indexes to Births and Marriages (1841–1905), Deaths (1841–1971). (On 398 rolls of film, beginning with Family History Library film 961262.)